Carlson, who is in fact the face of Fox and hosts the leading program on the right channel, mocked President Joe Biden on Tuesday for saying the U.S. military had created uniforms to fit women well, and created pregnancy flight suits for the pregnant. and updated requirements for hairstyles.
“So, we have new hairstyles and flight suits for maternity,” snarls Carlson. “Pregnant women are going to wage our wars. It’s a mockery of the US military.”
Carlson’s remark caused a severe setback for some of the most senior members of the U.S. military, who openly called for harmful rhetoric.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin shares the same “disgust” many military leaders have expressed over the sexist remarks Carlson has made.
“The secretary certainly shares the disgust of so many others as Mr Carlson said,” Kirby told reporters on Thursday.
Kirby said the military still needs to do “a lot of work” to become “more inclusive, more respectful of everyone – especially women”.
“We promise to do better, and we will do it,” Kirby said. “What we absolutely will not do is seek staff advice from a talk show host or the Chinese military. Maybe people feel they have something to prove. It depends on them. ‘
Other prominent military figures also weighed in on Twitter.
“They are beacons of freedom and they prove Carlson wrong through determination and dedication,” Funk added. “We are happy that they are serving with us.”
Lieutenant General Theodore D. Martin shared a photo of his daughter and said that “contrary to what you hear ‘does NOT’ make a mockery of our army. ‘
“YOU WIN that your daughter was as AWESOME as MINE!” Martin added. “So BACK.”
A Fox spokesman on Thursday morning did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Programming on Fox has become increasingly extreme over the past few years, and even more so after the November election, when smaller-channel competition made a bid for its conservative audience.
The days when Fox marketed itself as a ‘fair and balanced’ news channel are long gone. Most of the channel’s programs are now filled with right-wing comments.
Fox Corporation CEO Lachlan Murdoch even recently admitted that he views the network’s role in the Biden years as the ‘loyal opposition’ to the White House.